The present invention relates to a flashing system for a conservatory but without limitation to such an application.
Flashings are used when a roof of one building abuts against an adjacent wall to inhibit water ingress at the junction of the two. The roof in question will usually have a pitch but may be flat, and the adjacent wall may comprise courses of masonry, or a wall, which is not obviously coursedxe2x80x94such as a rendered wall or a wall clad with boards or shingles.
Traditionally, where a pitched roof abuts a wall of coursed brickwork, a lead flashing is provided. For the case of a conservatory roof, the position of the end glazing bar is determined and the mortar chased out from between courses of brickwork above the line of the glazing bar. A soaker is first formed to provide an upstand. The soaker has its lower edge formed with a channel to be received in a recess of the glazing bar. Then discrete pieces of lead are cut and formed into the required shape and then placed in position in overlapping relation with each other and with the soaker starting at the lower extremity of the roof. Each piece has a lip formed along its upper edge to be received in the chased groove of the brickwork. The need to form numerous pieces of lead in this manner to suit each application to accommodate pitch variations and different course depths is particularly time consuming.
The present invention aims to provide a solution, which avoids this problem.
Accordingly, a first aspect of the present invention provides a flashing comprising a preformed plastics element having a body with an inner face and an outer face, the body having an upper edge, a lower edge, a first or upper end and a second or lower end, and a continuous lip is formed along the upper edge, which lip is directed away from the outer face of the body.
More particularly, the lip is provided with wedging means. The wedging means may comprise a plurality of discrete spaced elements such as tabs. More preferably the tabs are deformable and preferably depend from an edge of the lip remote from the body. More preferably still, the tabs are directed towards the body to provide an edge abutment. The tabs are preferably formed on an upper side of said lip. The tabs and/or the lip may have a surface finish to provide a key for mortar or sealant.
The upper and lower ends can be substantially parallel, although that is not necessary. In one embodiment the upper and lower edges are substantially parallel and set at right angles to the upper and lower ends. In another embodiment the upper and lower edges converge in a direction from the lower end.
In use a plurality of the flashings are used in end overlapping relation, i.e. with a lower end overlying and overlapping with an upper end of an adjacent flashing. Preferably sealing means is provided to seal the overlapping ends. In one embodiment the inner face is provided with a resilient sealing element disposed adjacent its lower end. The sealing element may take the form of a resilient foam strip. Preferably the upper end of the flashing is provided with one or a plurality of spaced grooves on its outer face adjacent the upper end.
In said one embodiment, one end (the lower end) is provided with a recess for receiving the other end of an adjacent flashing. The lower end is joggled to overlap the outer surface of the other end of an adjacent flashing in use.
Another aspect of the invention provides a flashing system utilizing a plurality of the aforedescribed flashings in conjunction with an elongate extruded soaker channel, the soaker channel having a drainage groove and an upstanding wall which is overlaid by the lower edge of the flashings.
In use the aforesaid soaker channel cooperates with a glazing bar. More particularly, the glazing bar has a recess to receive the drainage channel. More particularly still, the glazing bar is provided with a capping which is cooperable with the glazing bar and which covers the soaker channel. More particularly, the capping has an upstanding lip that abuts the outer face of the flashings in use. The flashing system further preferably comprises a saddle flashing that is formed from plastics with a lip to an upper edge thereof and a reception location to receive a ridge beam. More particularly, the saddle flashing is formed of two parts with the aforedescribed recess formed in a first part as a projection from a planar flange, and the lip formed on a second planar part that overlies the aforesaid flange part in use. The saddle recess is vertically adjustable with respect to the saddle flashing. The invention also extends to a soaker channel extrusion as described herein and a saddle flashing as described herein.